Drop

Business optimism in Vietnam has fallen from 80 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 to 34 per cent in the final quarter of 2011, according to Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR).
It provides insight into the views and expectations of over 11,500 businesses per year across 40 economies.
Grant Thornton Vietnam’s managing partner Ken Atkinson said: “Business optimism and confidence have dropped considerably in the last 12 months as 2011 was the most difficult year for Vietnam since the global financial crisis and the economy is still facing many difficulties.”
“We expect 2012 to be another challenging year as the government continues it's resolve to fight inflation, and restrict credit growth. Whilst exports performed extremely well in 2011, the rate of growth in 2012 is expected to slow and this slow-down could be significant if the EU problems are not resolved,” said Atkinson.
The research suggests that Vietnam has not been … [Read more...] about Business optimism in Vietnam drops in Q4 2011

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold prices will fall below US$1,500 an ounce over the next three months and are unlikely to retest September's all-time highs until later 2012 at the earliest, according to a Reuters poll of 20 hedge fund managers, economists and traders.
The bleak forecast, coming after gold has lost 11 percent of its value so far this month, is likely to fuel fears that bullion is close to ending its more than decade long bull run and entering a bear market.
Almost half of respondents predicted bullion will fall to 1,450 an ounce in the first quarter next year, with three seeing prices as low as $1,400 an ounce.
The forecasts come after a dismal performance last week when prices hit a 2 1/2 month low of $1,560 and gold lost its safe haven status.
Selling was fuelled by a scramble by hedge funds for cash to meet client redemptions at the end of a difficult year and a run for cash by European banks seeking to raise capital.
"What is surprising is that in an environment … [Read more...] about Gold to drop in Q1, far from retesting record high: Reuters poll

The widely watched U.S. labor market got good news Friday as unemployment rate improved significantly in November, but the challenge for sustainable job growth remains.
Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 120,000 jobs in November, and unemployment rate declined 0.4 percentage point to 8.6 percent, reported the Labor Department on Friday.
The employment rate last month was the lowest since March 2009, during the depths of the recession, said the department.
Unemployment peaked at 10.1 percent in October 2009, four months after the Great Recession ended. It dipped to 8.9 percent last February and 8.8 percent last March but otherwise was at or above 9 percent.
In November, total unemployed Americans, at 13.3 million, was down by 594,000.
The private sector added 140,000 jobs last month, as employment rose in a number of service-providing industries. Government employment continued to trend down.
Employment rose in various sectors, including retail trade, clothing, leisure and … [Read more...] about U.S. unemployment rate drops, but job market still tough

A court in Ho Chi Minh City has dismissed a lawsuit against the city’s tax department by Uber after the ride-hailing firm asked the court to stop the department from charging it with a million-dollar sum of tax. The HCMC's tax department earlier asked five local commercial banks to help collect more than VND53 billion ($2.34 million) of what it believed was back taxes from Uber between January 1 and 10 of 2017. Instead, Uber Vietnam, a subsidiary of Uber International Services Holding B.V. based in the Netherlands, then filed a lawsuit against the department. On December 29, the department received an emergency notice from the court, saying that its collection of tax from Uber would be put on hold. The court has since dropped the lawsuit because Uber Vietnam “does not have the required legal status for such a case.” At the same time, it has also removed the suspension on tax collection, a source from the department told VnExpress on Wednesday. “With this new … [Read more...] about HCMC court drops Uber’s lawsuit against tax demand

A senior official of the country’s largest shipping company made this statement when contacted by VIR."Vinalines is preparing for the launch of the initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to happen before June 2018," he added. Vinalines, which ports are in radar of foreign investors, submitted to the Ministry of Transport the equitisation plan for approval at the end of 2017.In the plan, Vinalines proposes cutting the state holdings to 65% and issuing more shares to increase its charter capital to over VN13.9 trillion (US$631.8 million).The giant also proposed MoT to allow it to sell 30% of its charter capital to a strategic investor, while 4.84% will be auctioned.At the end of 2016, the debts of the country’s largest shipping company were reduced to US$274.4 million thanks to its better performance.In 2016, Vinalines broke even after suffering losses during 2011-2014. The giant gained a pre-tax profit of VND923 billion (US$41.95 million) and VND1.14 trillion … [Read more...] about Vinalines’ debts drop sharply on back of better performance